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On Sunday, the United States announced its formal withdrawal from the “Open Skies” defense treaty, one of several international agreements from which Washington withdrew during the presidency of Donald Trump.
The 1992 treaty between Russia and the United States and 32 other countries, most of which are members of NATO, allows the army of one member country to conduct a specified number of unarmed reconnaissance flights in the airspace of another member country. shortly after being informed of the matter.
The aircraft can inspect the territories below, collect information and images of military installations and activities, with the aim of eliminating unfounded suspicions between rival countries, avoiding surprises and reducing the possibility of conflicts.
But Trump said in May that Moscow had failed to meet its obligations under the treaty aimed at bolstering confidence between the two superpowers.
The US State Department said on Sunday: “The US withdrawal took effect on November 22, 2020 and the United States is no longer a party to the Open Skies Treaty.”
Moscow and Washington have long been accused of violating the terms of the treaty, and in May the Trump administration said it had announced the six-month period required to exit it.
The United States, under Trump, also withdrew from the international nuclear agreement with Iran signed in 2015, as well as the Paris climate agreement.
President-elect Joe Biden vowed to bring America back to the pact on his first day in the White House.
